BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 225|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 445-6614 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 225
Author: Kuehl (D), et al
Amended: 8/30/01
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-2, 4/25/01
AYES: Vasconcellos, Alarcon, Alpert, Karnette, O'Connell,
Ortiz, Scott, Sher, Vincent
NOES: Knight, Monteith
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-5, 5/14/01
AYES: Alpert, Burton, Escutia, Karnette, Murray, Perata,
Speier
NOES: Battin, Johannessen, Johnson, McPherson, Poochigian
SENATE FLOOR : 22-13, 5/17/01
AYES: Alpert, Bowen, Burton, Chesbro, Dunn, Figueroa,
Karnette, Kuehl, Murray, O'Connell, Ortiz, Peace, Perata,
Polanco, Romero, Scott, Sher, Soto, Speier, Torlakson,
Vasconcellos, Vincent
NOES: Ackerman, Battin, Brulte, Haynes, Johannessen,
Johnson, Knight, Margett, McClintock, Monteith, Morrow,
Oller, Poochigian
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 44-31, 9/4/01 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Education: interscholastic athletics
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes a variety of changes in current
CONTINUED
SB 225
Page
2
law relative to the substance and the procedures to be
followed in matters of discrimination, relative to
interscholastic athletics. In addition, the bill extends
the sunset date for the statutory authorization for the
California Interscholastic Federation for five years.
Assembly amendments make several clarifying, technical
changes, and add co-authors.
ANALYSIS : The California Interscholastic Federation
(CIF) is a voluntary organization that consists of school
and school-related personnel with responsibility for
administering interscholastic athletic activities in
secondary schools. It is accountable to the governing
boards of school districts and other local agencies.
The State Department of Education has a variety of duties
and responsibilities over interscholastic athletics,
including the duty to insure that the policies of school
districts and CIF are in compliance with both state and
federal law. Until 1997, absent the statutory
authorization for CIF, the "default" responsibility of the
State Department of Education was to "exercise general
control over all athletic activities of the public
schools." Prior to the enactment of the original statutory
authorization in 1981, CIF existed for 67 years by letter
of agreement between the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction and CIF.
Over the years, the statutory authorization has contained a
series of "sunset clauses," with various requirements to be
met as a condition for the sunset clauses to be extended.
Briefly, the legislative history includes:
1. The current sunset date of January 1, 2002 was
established in 2000 (SB 1618 - O'Connell; Chapter 585,
Statutes of 2000). This followed sunset dates being
established in 1991,1993, and 1996 (AB 273 - Clute;
Chapter 617/1991, AB 1375 - Collins; Chapter 487/1993,
and SB 237 - Lewis; Chapter 151, Statutes of 1996).
2. The original 1981 legislation gave a statutory basis to
CIF, and, in combination with changes made in the 1991
reauthorization, set forth the responsibilities of the
SB 225
Page
3
State Department of Education and CIF.
3. Current law also expresses the intent of the Legislature
that CIF, in consultation with the State Department of
Education, implement the following policies:
A. Give the governing boards of school districts
specific authority to select their athletic league
representatives.
B. Require that all league, section, and state
meetings affiliated with CIF be subject to the notice
and hearing requirements of the open meetings laws
(the Ralph M. Brown Act).
C. Establish a neutral final appeals body to hear
complaints related to interscholastic athletic
policies.
Existing law prohibits a voluntary interscholastic athletic
association, of which any public school is a member, from
discriminating against, or denying the benefits of any
program to, any person on the basis of race, sex, or ethnic
origin.
Existing law also provides that if the State Department of
Education (SDE) finds that certain entities are not in
compliance with state or federal law, SDE may require the
school district, association, or consortium, or CIF to
adjust its policy so that it is in compliance. SDE is
prohibited from determining the specific policy that must
be adopted in order to comply with state and federal laws.
This bill makes a variety of changes in current law
relative to the substance and the procedures to be followed
in matters of discrimination, relative to interscholastic
athletics. In addition, the bill extends the sunset date
for the statutory authorization for the California
Interscholastic Federation for five years. Specifically,
this bill:
1. Repeals the January 1, 2002, sunset date for the
statutory authorization for CIF, and establishes a new
SB 225
Page
4
sunset date of January 1, 2007. The bill also
establishes a new date for CIF to report on its
evaluation and accountability activities of January 1,
2005.
2. Would broaden the prohibition against discrimination to
include, among others, discrimination on the basis of
religion, mental or physical disability, and any basis
contained in the prohibition of hate crimes, such as
crimes against those on the basis of race, sex, ethnic
origin, and sexual orientation.
3. Requires CIF to provide information to parents and
pupils regarding the state and federal complaint
procedures for discrimination complaints in
interscholastic athletics.
4. Allows a complainant from a public school who wishes to
file a discrimination complaint based on interscholastic
activities conducted by an association, by a consortium
of school districts, or by CIF, to file that complaint
directly with SDE without having to first file the
compliant with the school district.
5. Authorizes SDE, if it finds an entity out of compliance
with state or federal law, to prescribe administrative
remedies that such an association, consortium of school
districts, or CIF must provide in order to comply with
state or federal law.
6. Provides that no voluntary interscholastic athletic
association shall deny a school from participating in
interscholastic athletic activities because of the
religious tenets of the school, regardless of whether
that school is directly controlled by a religious
organization.
Comments
Last renewal was for only one year . As noted earlier in
this Analysis, in 2000 legislation was approved that only
extended the statutory authorization for CIF for one year.
This was a compromise that was struck after agreement could
not be reached with the Governor relative to including
SB 225
Page
5
additional nondiscrimination language into the
authorization for CIF. The nondiscrimination proposals are
included in this bill, and another bill, SB 354 (Escutia),
provides for a five year renewal (without the
discrimination proposals).
Required reports have been submitted . The CIF was required
to submit a report on its "evaluation and accountability
activities" pursuant to existing law by January 1, 1999.
These reports were a condition of the previous sunset
extension, and are available.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
Minor, absorbable costs.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/4/01)
American Association of University Women
American Civil Liberties Union
California Alliance for Pride and Equality
California National Organization for Women
California Women's Law Center
Commission on the Status of Women
Protection and Advocacy
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Delaine Eastin
Western Law Center for Disability Rights
California Teachers Association
Women's Sports Foundation
Association of Counsel for Children
San Francisco Women Lawyers' Alliance
California Association for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance
OPPOSITION : (Verified 9/4/01)
Campaign for California Families
Committee on Moral Concerns
Traditional Values Coalition
Several individual letters
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Proponents argue this bill is
intended to address the concerns of parents and others by
SB 225
Page
6
ensuring that they will receive adequate notice of the
state and federal civil rights remedies available to them.
The bill also addresses concerns about the process by
ensuring that formal complaints may be filed directly with
SDE rather than with a local school district, which does
not actually have the authority to address multi-district
complaints.
Finally, this bill prohibits discrimination in
interscholastic athletics on all of the same bases that
discrimination is currently prohibited in publicly funded
schools, and includes safeguards that ensure that private
religious schools can continue to play in interscholastic
athletic leagues.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents argue they believe
the discrimination provisions are overbroad. In a letter
from the Committee on Moral Concerns, they note: "the bill
will punish any school in CIF that fails to establish a
policy of accepting gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, along
with transsexuals and transvestites. It will permit
complaints to be filed with SDE without even addressing the
local school district. This is unfair in two ways. First,
it fosters dangerous sexual behaviors. Second, it denies
the accused school an opportunity to defend itself against
all complaints, real or imagined."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Alquist, Aroner, Calderon, Canciamilla, Cardenas,
Cedillo, Chan, Chavez, Chu, Cohn, Corbett, Correa, Diaz,
Dutra, Firebaugh, Frommer, Goldberg, Jackson, Keeley,
Kehoe, Koretz, Liu, Longville, Lowenthal, Matthews,
Migden, Nakano, Nation, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Papan,
Pavley, Salinas, Shelley, Simitian, Steinberg,
Strom-Martin, Thomson, Vargas, Wayne, Wesson, Wiggins,
Wright, Hertzberg
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Bates, Bogh, Briggs, Bill
Campbell, John Campbell, Cogdill, Cox, Daucher,
Dickerson, Florez, Harman, Havice, Hollingsworth, Kelley,
La Suer, Leach, Leonard, Leslie, Maddox, Maldonado,
Mountjoy, Robert Pacheco, Rod Pacheco, Pescetti, Runner,
Strickland, Wyland, Wyman, Zettel
SB 225
Page
7
NC:sl 9/5/01 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****